All-In-One Association Member Management System

Effective Date: May 25, 2018

Introduction

YourMembership is a member of the Community Brands family. This Privacy Policy (âPrivacy Policyâ) is specific to YourMembership and may contain information not included in Community Brandsâ statement. This is due to the specific services and software uniquely provided by YourMembership. Please also review the Community Brands Privacy Policy to ensure you are fully informed of our privacy practices. The Community Brands Privacy Policy can be found here: https://www.communitybrands.com/legal/.

At YourMembership (âYMâ, âweâ, âusâ, âourâ, or the âCompanyâ), we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we collect about users of our websites and is designed to help you understand how we collect, use and safeguard the information you provide to us and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our Services. This Privacy Policy also describes (1) the measures we take to safeguard the information we collect and (2) your rights and privileges concerning our collection, use and disclosure of information about you.

This Privacy Policy applies to websites owned and operated by YourMembership, including, but not limited to, www.yourmembership.com. Throughout this document, this website, all other YourMembership affiliated websites, and affiliates with links to this policy will be collectively referred to as the âWebsitesâ. Services provided by or enabled via the Websites will be referred to as the âServicesâ.

YourMembership is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of non-YM websites to which this website, or any other YourMembership website, may link. Also, YourMembership is not responsible for the privacy practices of our Clients or users of our Clientsâ websites. You should review any additional privacy policy and terms of use agreements before using a Clientâs website.

By using our Websites, you consent to the data practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the data practices described in this Privacy Policy, you should not use our Websites.

YourMembership Software Platforms

In addition to the Websites, YourMembership operates web-based software platforms, YourMembership AMS, Crowd Wisdom LMS and Career Center solutions, used by our Clients and individuals to provide access to a website for authorized individuals, including their employees and customers. The use of information collected through this platform is strictly limited to the purpose of meeting our contractual obligations to our Clients and providing the services requested by our Clients, which are defined within our service agreements.

If you are the customer of one of our Clients, you should refer to that Clientâs privacy policy for information on how your personal information is collected, used and protected. Any inquires related to your data, how it is processed, and data access, deletion and modification requests should be directed to that Client.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

The data YourMembership collects and uses is governed by this Privacy Policy as amended from time to time, not by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time of data collection. This includes data collected from YourMembership Websites, affiliates with links to this Privacy Policy, and services provided by or enabled via these sites. YourMembership may change the Privacy Policy at our sole discretion and will provide notice of changes in the Privacy Policy and on the privacy policy page of our Websites. If, as the result of such changes, you want to alter the ways in which we are allowed to use your personal information, you can do so by following the procedure described in the section entitled âPrivacy Rightsâ.

Please regularly review our Privacy Policy. If you have objections to the Privacy Policy, you should immediately discontinue use of the Websites and the Services enabled by the Websites. This Privacy Policy does not govern privacy practices associated with offline activities, websites other than the Websites, or any products or services not available or enabled via the Websites.

You will be deemed to have been made aware of, and will be subject to, the changes to the Privacy Policy after such notice has been posted with the following exception: if at the time you provide personal information to YourMembership you limit how such information will be used to communicate with you, either by YourMembership or by third parties, YourMembership will not change your preference in this regard without your express consent. However, if YourMembership sells assets (or the assets of a division or subsidiary) to another entity, or YourMembership (or a division or subsidiary) is acquired by or merged with another entity, you agree that YourMembership may provide to such entity customer information that is related to that part of our business that was sold to or merged with the other entity without obtaining your further consent.

Policy Regarding Children

YourMembership Websites and Services are not designed for use by children under the age of 16. As such, this Website is not directed at children under the age of 16 nor do we knowingly collect or maintain information from children under the age of 16 on this Website.

Collection and Use of Data

YourMembership are the sole owners of the information collected on this website. We have access to and collect information that you voluntarily give us via email, webform or other direct contact from you. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We may disclose information to our corporate affiliates and third parties to provide products and services to you, or related to products or services you have purchased or downloaded from YourMembership. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email in the future to tell you about our services, new products, or changes to this privacy policy or to provide you with informational or educational newsletters.

Do not provide personal information about others unless you are authorized or required to do so by applicable law or contract. Before supplying personal information about others, you and the person about whom you supply the information must review and consent to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of the Website. By submitting any personal information about others, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to do so, that you have made the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy available to the person about whom you supply the information, and that you have obtained that personâs written consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If applicable law allows you to supply the information without doing the foregoing, you represent and warrant that you have abided by that law and that it allows us to receive and disclose the information under this Privacy Policy without any further action on our part. You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless YourMembership, our parents, subsidiaries, officers, directors, employees and agents, sponsors and supporting artists, licensors and suppliers for any failure by you to comply with this paragraph.

Personal Information and Business Information

âPersonal Informationâ as used in this Privacy Policy is information that we directly associate with a specific person or entity, such as name, address, payment information (including payment card number, expiration date, cardholder name and CVV code), mobile telephone number, and email address.

The Personal Information you provide will vary based upon the context, and we will not collect your Personal Information unless you make it available. You are not required to provide Personal Information at any time while visiting the Websites; however, you may be required to provide Personal Information to use certain Services. You may provide us with Personal Information by participating in online or emailed surveys, subscribing to newsletters and other recurring offerings through the Websites, and in connection with other products, services, features, or requests made available through the Websites.

YourMembership collects the Business and Personal Information necessary to enable us to respond to your requests for our products and services and to send you information regarding our products and services from time to time. Since most of the users of our products and Websites are doing so in their capacity as potential employees, employees, employers or companies, most Business and Personal Information we collect will be in that capacity. For these purposes, we have defined âBusiness Informationâ as any information that identifies or may identify a job seeker (potential employee), company or an individual contact at a company or that allows others to contact a company or an individual contact at a company. When you visit our Websites, you may be asked to submit information such as e-mail address, company name, address, phone number, your product version and/or areas of interest. We may also ask you where you heard about our company or products, or for other information that will help us understand more about your needs or help us process your requests for information. In addition, we collect credit card and related payment information when you order products, services or support plans online. Our information collection and use practices are described in more detail below.

Support

We offer certain limited online support services. If you access our online support, you may be asked for information such as customer ID, product name, product version and other information to help us determine what the technical issues are and how best to help you resolve them. In addition, certain products allow you to submit support-related questions directly from the product. If you access online support services from a product, information about your network, operating system, printer, data and program path, product type, version, customer ID, the productâs technical support information sheet, product serial number and other similar information will be automatically pre-populated for submission to our customer support representatives to assist them in answering your questions.

Product-Related Information Collection

YourMembership collects certain additional information in connection with your use of our Services, web-based products and/or desktop products with online features. For instance:

Product Updates: Some products provide you with the ability to download and register product and/or tax updates as they become available. During the download and registration process, we collect âBusiness Informationâ, including customer ID number and product version, type and serial number. This is collected so that we can authorize your access, provide you with the appropriate update, and to update our records as to the product and products updates you have downloaded or installed, so that we may provide the appropriate support.
Account Set-Up and Access: Upon subscribing to our services, YourMembership collects Business Information, which may include information such as product serial number, customer ID and your customer profile information. This allows us to identify you to authorize your access and use of the services, and to provide you with your relevant account information. Certain products allow you to access your account to obtain information such as your support plan status, service subscriptions, registrations and order history.
Online Product /Account Application: Certain products and services are subject to an application and enrollment process, which may be completed on paper or online. Information requested may include federal ID numbers, bank account, payroll, credit card and contact information. This information is used to process your enrollment request and, if approved, to set up and administer your account.
Web-based Services: Some of our web-based Services collect certain additional information, including IP address, browser, connection speed, domain, referring URL and other environment-related information. This enables us to provide a secure environment for the use of the services, to pre-populate forms and calculate aggregate statistical information about the customers using these services. We use this information to better protect you and to provide a better user experience.

Third-Party Products

YourMembership may use your Business Information to inform you of special discounts or offers from other companies we have carefully selected and whose products and services may be of interest to you.

Public Forums

Information (including personal and business information) that you submit, post or otherwise reveal in a public forum (such as comments to a blog or product discussion forum) is not subject to this Privacy Policy, will be seen by third parties not related to YourMembership and may be used by them or YourMembership to contact you for any purpose.

Registrations

To access information (blogs, demos of our products, marketing materials etc.) on the Websites, a user may be required to register with YourMembership. During registration a user is required to give certain information (such as name, email address, job title). This information is used to contact you about the products/services on our website in which you have expressed interest.

Orders

We request information from you on our order form. To buy from us, you must provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial information (like credit card number, expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we’ll use this information to contact you.

Surveys and Contests

From time-to-time, our Websites may request information via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you may choose whether or not to participate and therefore disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code). Contact information will be used to notify winners and award prizes, if applicable. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of the Website or for delivery of services.

Cookies

YourMembership may place âcookiesâ on the browser of your computer. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computerâs hard drive. Cookies may enhance the convenience and use of the Website. For example, the information provided through cookies may be used to recognize you as a previous user of the Website (so you do not have to enter your personal information every time), offer personalized information for your use, and otherwise facilitate your experience using the Website. You may choose to decline cookies if your browser permits, but doing so may affect your ability to access or use certain features of the Website.

YourMembership may also utilize web beacons on our Websites. A âweb beacon,â also known as an Internet tag, pixel tag or clear GIF, links web pages to web servers and their cookies and may be used to transmit information collected through cookies back to a web server. The information collected through these automated means may include information that we gather and store about your visit to, and use of, the Websites, such as your IP address, type of browser and operating system used, date and time you access the websites, pages you visit, and, if you linked to the Websites from another website, the address of that website. This data does not include Personal Information and is not treated as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy, but it may include the IP address of your device. We may link an IP address to information that is personally identifiable.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can disable this function so that your browser will not accept cookies. Please be aware that disabling this function may impact your use and enjoyment of this Website.

Third-Party Analytics

We may also allow certain third-party analytics service providers to include cookies and web beacons within the pages of the Websites on our behalf and to retain and use the information received from such cookies and web beacons themselves. Third-party service providers that collect this data on our behalf or on behalf of client may offer information about their data collection practices.

Do Not Track

Currently, various browsers â including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari â offer a âdo not trackâ or âDNTâ option that relies on a technology known as a DNT header, which sends a signal to Web sitesâ visited by the user about the user’s browser DNT preference setting.Â We do not currently commit to responding to browsers’ DNT signals with respect to the Company’s Web sites, in part, because no common industry standard for DNT has been adopted by industry groups, technology companies or regulators, including no consistent standard of interpreting user intent. We take privacy and meaningful choice seriously and will make efforts to continue to monitor developments around DNT browser technology and the implementation of a standard.

Protecting Data During Collection

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the Websites, your information is protected both online and offline.Â We use appropriate security measures to protect the security of your data both online and offline. These measures vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect, process, store, and the current state of technology. Please note, though, that no website or internet transmission is completely secure, so while we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss or a data breach will never occur.

How We Use the Data We Collect

Email Communication

Each email we send will contain instructions on how to unsubscribe should you decide not to receive future promotional e-mails. If you choose to opt-out of receiving promotional e-mail communications from any YourMembership business unit, we may still periodically communicate with you via mail and telephone. Â Please allow up to 10 business days to be removed from our promotional e-mail list.

We send notification emails about the Website and Services from time to time as necessary. Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive them, you have the option to deactivate your account.

We also send newsletters to our users with news of new service offerings and promotions. Should you change your mind about receiving these newsletters, you can unsubscribe by following the directions present in each email we send out.

Most of our communications are intended to:

inform you of product upgrades and updates and subscription renewals;
inform you of tax, regulatory and other compliance issues with your software product or service;
notify you of products and services that we think may be of interest to you;
offer you discounts or other promotions with respect to YourMembership products and services that we think may interest you; and
contact you for survey purposes to determine how we can better service you or provide better products to meet your needs.

Our Career Center solutions send notifications to job-seekers about relevant job information. If you are a job-seeker, you may opt out of these communications at any time.

For our Career Center solutions, YourMembership collects personal and non-personal information to perform the service of matching job seekers up with potential employers. To create a job seeker profile for you based on information you have provided to us; To provide information about you to employers and recruiters at your request; To create an employer profile based on the information you have provided us; To provide information about you and your recruitment advertisements to job seekers at your request; If an employer uses YourMembershipâs technology to post an advertisement to a third party job board, that employerâs contact information may be shared with the operator of that third party; To contact you regarding changes to your profile, service updates, products and services you may be interested in, surveys, sweepstakes, and various other.

YourMembership acts as an agent of the employer by collecting user personal and non-personal information during the job application process.

Third-Party E-Mail Promotions

If you access and/or use any of our Partnerâs services from a link on this Website, a YourMembership/Partner co-branded website or by any other means, any information you reveal in connection with such service is submitted to our Partner and is not subject to this Privacy Policy. You should consult the privacy policy of any Partner or third-party website with respect to its treatment of any information that you may reveal through such service.

Services and Product Data

Business Information collected by YourMembership as set forth in the Personal Information and Business Information section above does not include your companyâs data entered in the course of operating our products (âProduct Dataâ) or data provided by you while using our services (âServices Dataâ). YourMembership will not access your Product Data or Services Data except in the following limited circumstances:

to provide you with technical support, solely at your request and with your permission;
on a limited-access basis to install updates, produce regular backups or restore data from backups at your request;
where the inherent purpose of the product or service requires YourMembership to provide the Product Data or Services Data to a third party on your behalf (for example where YourMembership makes tax filings on your behalf or initiates bank transfers on your behalf); and
unless you opt-out, to utilize Aggregate Information derived from Product Data and Services Data to help us improve our products and services and in developing additional Aggregate Information is non-identifying information about you that is provided to third parties for analysis. For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of users of this Website and the activities they conduct while on this Website to better understand user experience. Third-parties who receive aggregate information cannot identify or contact you based on the information they receive.

YourMembership will not provide your Product Data or Services Data to any third-party or permit any third-party to access your Product Data or Services Data, except with your permission or to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order. In addition, if at any time you decide to discontinue your use of the applicable service, your Services Data will be destroyed and removed from all servers according to terms set forth in your Service Agreement, subject to applicable back-up and disaster recovery practices and procedures.

How We Share Data

Unless you give us your permission, we donât share data we collect from you with third parties, except as described below:

Third-party service providers or consultants. We may share data collected from you on the YourMembership Website with third-party service providers or consultants who need access to the data to perform their work on YourMembershipâs behalf, such as a website analytics company or our third-party advertising partners. These third-party service providers are limited to only accessing or using this data to provide services to us and must provide reasonable assurances that they will appropriately safeguard the data.

Compliance with Laws. We may disclose your data to a third party if (i) we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or government request (including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements), (ii) to enforce our agreements and policies, (iii) to protect the security or integrity of the YourMembership Website or our services and products, (iv) to protect ourselves, our other customers, or the public from harm or illegal activities, or (v) to respond to an emergency which we believe in good faith requires us to disclose data to assist in preventing a death or serious bodily injury. If YourMembership is required by law to disclose any of your data that directly identifies you, then we will use reasonable efforts to provide you with notice of that disclosure requirement, unless we are prohibited from doing so by statute, subpoena or court or administrative order. Further, we object to requests that we do not believe were issued properly.

Affiliates. We may share data collected from you from the YourMembership Website with our affiliates. We all will only use the data as described in this notice.

Business transfers. If we go through a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, data we gather from you through our website may be part of the assets transferred or shared in connection with due diligence for any such transaction. Any acquirer or successor of YourMembership may continue to use the data we collect from you through our Website as described in this notice.

Aggregated or de-identified data. We might also share data collected from you from the YourMembership Website with a third party if that data has been de-identified or aggregated in a way that does not directly identify you.

Employers (Career Center). An Employer is a recruiter, company representative, agency or other individual who has contracted with YourMembership and is interested in contacting potential candidates, or job-seekers, for job openings. Relevant job-seeker resumes are provided to Employers, who may use that resume information to contact the job-seeker. This information is only made available to employers with the consent of the job-seeker.

We do not share your data (including, but not limited to, the personal data of your end users) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, unless you give us your consent to do so.

EU-US Privacy Shield Framework

YourMembership complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union to the United States. YourMembership has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/.

YourMembership chooses our third-party agents with care and works to ensure they uphold privacy and security standards set forth by the Privacy Shield Framework. Regarding the Accountability for Onward Transfer, YourMembership remains liable if our agent processes the personal information we have provided them in a manner inconsistent with the Privacy Shield Principles, unless we can provide prove that YourMembership is not responsible for any occurrence resulting in a compromise of personal data.

YourMembership is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission.

YourMembershipâs headquarters are in the United States and as such, data may be transferred to the United States. Personal data will be transferred to the United States only: to fulfill contractual obligations to you; with your consent; or to fulfill a compelling legitimate interest of YourMembership in a manner that does not impeach on your rights and freedoms. As we are compliant with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, we therefore comply with data protection requirements when transferring personal data from the EU. In addition, we make every effort to ensure the security and protection of the data we transfer.

Privacy Rights

We may retain your information for a period of time consistent with the original purpose of collection. For instance, we may retain your information during the time in which you have an account to use our Websites or Services and for a reasonable period afterward. We also may retain your information during the period of time needed for us to pursue our legitimate business interests, conduct audits, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

You may opt out of any future contacts from us at any time. Additionally, if the collection of your personal data was based on your consent, you have the right to revoke that consent at any time. Be aware that by revoking consent, you may lose access to services you previously opted to use.

You may request to review, correct, delete, or otherwise modify any of the personal information that you have previously provided to us through the Companyâs Website(s) and Services.Â You can do the following at any time by contacting us via the email address or phone number provided on our website:

See what data we have about you, if any
Change/correct any data we have about you
Have us delete any data we have about you
Express any concern you have about our use of your data

Requests to access, change, or delete your information will be addressed within a reasonable timeframe.

California Residentsâ Privacy Rights

Pursuant to Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, residents of California have the right to request from a business, with whom the California resident has an established business relationship, certain information with respect to the types of personal information the business shares with third parties for direct marketing purposes by such third party and the identities of the third parties with whom the business has shared such information during the immediately preceding calendar year. To request a copy of such information, please contact us as described in the âQuestions, Concerns or Complaintsâ section below, and we will respond within 30 days as required by law.

How to Contact Us

In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, YourMembership commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. YourMembership takes its usersâ privacy concerns seriously.

If you believe that YourMembership has not complied with this Privacy Policy with respect to your personal information, or EU individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding our Privacy Shield policy, you should first contact us at YourMembership by emailing us at privacy@communitybrands.com or by writing to the YourMembership Privacy Officer at the following address:

YourMembership

Attn: Privacy Officer

9620 Executive Center Dr. N #200

St. Petersburg, FL 33702

USA

In your letter, please describe in as much detail as possible the ways in which you believe that the Privacy Policy or Privacy Shield Framework has not been complied with. We will investigate your complaint promptly.

YourMembership has committed to refer unresolved privacy complaints under the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework to BBB EU PRIVACY SHIELD, a non-profit alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United States and operated by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint, or if it is not satisfactorily addressed by YourMembership, please visit www.bbb.org/EU-privacy-shield/for-eu-consumers/for more information and to file a complaint. Should you not receive a satisfactory resolution, you may also contact your local data protection authority, the Federal Trade Commission, or the US Department of Commerce. Finally, if your complaint remains unresolved, you have the right to invoke binding arbitration by the Privacy Shield Panel upon written notice to YourMembership at privacy@communitybrands.com.

Please note that YourMembership is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of non- YourMembership websites to which this Website or any other YourMembership website may link. Also, YourMembership is not responsible for the privacy practices of its customers or users of its customer websites. You should review the additional privacy policy of the customer website before using the website.

Revision Date: July 2, 2018

	MemberClicks	YourMembership
Price	$350 / month for 1,000 records	$292 / month for 1,000 records
Member Management	Membership and events focused system	Membership and events + comprehensive reporting, job board, online, store, and more
Mobile Access	Unable to meet members where they are â on their mobile device	Make it easy for members to interact and engage on-the-go with a mobile app to quickly connect them to their desired experience.
Online Community	Online community has limited functionality and an outdated user-interface	Comprehensive online community features that converts sporadic engagement into stronger member connections.
Marketing Automation		Automated communications, reports and invoices that save staff time and increases productivity.

You may have even begun to do research and ask AMS vendors questions about their products. But not everyone at your organization understands the challenges with your existing technology or sees the value an all-in-one solution could provide.Â Here are some tips for persuading your organization to consider new software:

Examine your softwareâs checkered past.

Learn how the system evolved over the years. Before developing a case for new membership management software, take time to understand the history behind your existing system.

Has your association taken advantage of all available upgrades? If not, why?
Have any customizations (or fixes) been done since implementation? If so, why and by whom?
Has your organization outgrown your current solution?
Does your staff have to do a lot of manual processes?

Assess your relationship with your current vendor.

Are you receiving the level of support you desire?
How responsive are they to requests for bug fixes or new functionality?
Are they providing sufficient training for new and veteran users? For example, do they have a user conference, user group and online resources?

And finally, evaluate whether the system has been able to evolve with your associationâs changing needs. Where is it falling short?

Before developing a case for new membership management software, take time to understand the history behind your existing system.

Study your softwareâs impact on association staff.

Now that you have a sense of the systemâs past, itâs time to dig into the present by talking to your staff and volunteers using the system.

How does your existing technology hinder you and your colleagues from achieving your associationâs strategic goals?
What regularly causes frustration when using the system?
What do you and your colleagues wish the system could do, but doesnât?
What actions canât you take because of the systemâs limitations?
What questions do you have about members, prospects and customers that canât be answered due to the systemâs limitations?
What processes would you like to automate or streamline?
What reports would you find useful?
How could technology free up time so you can spend more time on more strategic or useful work?

When presenting your business case, numbers will make an impact on listeners. Ask staff to translate their experiences into data you can share. For example:

How much extra time does it take to run a process because of system limitations? How many times does this happen per week/month?
How many errors are made per week/month due to system issues? How much time does it take to fix those errors?

DownloadÂ TheÂ UltimateÂ Association Management Software (AMS) Buyerâs Guide toÂ learn more about how to choose the right software for your association

Assess inefficiencies and problems caused by your software.

General lamenting about a system isnât going to change anyoneâs mind. But, you will change minds if you document system issues and accompany documentation with data and scenarios illustrating issues in these five areas:

Efficiency/productivity

Data integrity issues.
Reporting limitations.
Integration issues.
Impact on staff morale.
System adoption rate.

RisksÂ

Data security issues.
Compliance issues.

Financial costs

Lost staff time translated into dollars and budget percentages.
Overtime or temporary staff costs for data entry or other tasks.
Money spent on fixes, workarounds and issues related to the systemâs age and/or limitations.

Value delivery

Unknowns due to missing data or reporting limitations.
Projects put off because of system limitations.
Decisions not made or made with insufficient information.
Opportunities missed.

Future readiness

Existing technologyâs impact on ability to attract staff talent.
Ability to respond to new market needs.
Competitive posture.

Be ready to provide examples about the systemâs shortcomings in these three areas, and back up your argument with supporting data in the appendix of your business case.

General lamenting about a system isnât going to change anyoneâs mind. But, you will change minds if you document system issues and accompany documentation with dataÂ

1. Explain the life expectancy of your current solution

Point out the following aspects concerning the life expectancy of your current membership software:

Technology: If your system is heavily reliant on technology that is being discontinued, bring this up.

Members: Point out if members have threatened to leave if you donât fix certain issues or offer particular services, and mention that there may be others who have the same issue but remained silent as they shop around for another organization to join.

Cost: Quantify how much itâs costing to keep your current systems and software in working order. Point out that an all-in-one AMS solution will help decrease software costs and reduce using multiple vendors.

2. Define functional requirements in terms of efficiency

Take time to add context to your list of functional requirements, explaining why those features are necessary. For example, for each feature, assign which task it will help complete. Add details about how the task is currently being completed. Estimate the time to complete the task now versus how long it will take with a new system.

Be ready to provide examples about the systemâs shortcomings in these three areas, and back up your argument with supporting data in the appendix of your business case.

3. Be prepared for the cost barrier

Even though youâve demonstrated how a new system will make your organization more efficient and can point out the ways in which youâll be better serving your members, be prepared to hear phrases like âthis isnât in the budgetâ or âthis isnât the right timeâ during your presentation. Combat this type of thinking with your previous research and efficiency calculations to create the most compelling case for new software.

Build a convincing business case for new software.

After youâve gathered all the information you need, itâs time to build your business case for new membership software.

Describe the risks and challenges for staying with the status quo, including the impact on staff productivity (and, therefore, the budget), technical inefficiencies and risks, missed opportunities, and limitations the existing software imposes on your associationâs ability to deliver value to members and achieve its goals.

When you explain the benefits of moving to a new solution, speak to the concerns of the decision-makers, and speak in their language. The Board of Directors may want to know how this change will impact the bottom line. While others on the executive team may be more interested in how new software will help increase member engagement or improve decision-making. Focus on the impact of a new solution, not so much the functionality, unless you can tie it directly to a strategic goal.

Let the decision-makers know whom you consulted to prepare your presentation. Identify the members of the selection team and describe the vendor selection process and the criteria the team will use to decide.

Discuss the budget in the context of the expected ROI of a new system. Allude to the data youâve collected in the appendix of your business case to back up your argument for making a switch. Refer to case studies of associations like yours that overcame similar challenges by investing in a new database.

Discuss the budget in the context of the expected ROI of a new system.

Discuss the timeline and basic implementation plan, including your change management strategy and the projectâs impact on operations.
Finally, have someone with a good eye for detail, as well as the strategic big picture, review your oral and written presentation. If you canât convince this audience, support your argument with more impact statements and data.

DownloadÂ TheÂ UltimateÂ Association Management Software (AMS) Buyerâs Guide toÂ learn more about how to choose the right software for your association

Take a quick tour of YourMembership’s AMS

Membership Management Software

Learning Management System

Career Center Solutions

Talk to sales +1-727-827-0046

Subscribe to the blog

Let's get social

Footer

Software Solutions

Services & Support

Partners

Company

Technology

Resources

Resource Center

Popular content on YourMembership

Let us help you grow your association.

Talk to sales +1-727-827-0046

Subscribe to the blog

Let's get social

Footer

Software Solutions

Services & Support

Partners

Company

Technology

Resources

Build stronger connections with your members.

Deliver the education your professionals seek and expect.

Increase your non-dues revenue.

Association Management Software

Learning Management System

Career Center Solutions

Talk to sales +1-727-827-0046

Subscribe to the blog

Let's get social

Footer

Software Solutions

Services & Support

Partners

Company

Technology

Resources

Take a quick tour of YourMembership’s AMS

Membership Management Software

Learning Management System

Career Center Solutions

Talk to sales +1-727-827-0046

Subscribe to the blog

Let's get social

Footer

Software Solutions

Services & Support

Partners

Company

Technology

Resources

5 Trends To Improve The Member Experience in 2019

Access your content

Is your association ready to deliver an exceptional member experience in 2019?

What’s inside

Talk to sales +1-727-827-0046

Career Center
Solutions

Career Center
Solutions

Career Center
Solutions